Food product and process of making same



G. WASHINGTON FOOD PRODUCT AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME Original Fled June 7, 1915 2 5heets sheet 2 V vwcmoz d W 3513A@ @wm Aw Patented ct. 2l, 1924.

STATES GEORGE WASHINGTON, OF BROOKLYN, vNEVI' YORK.

FOOD v1?]3'OD'UCI AND PROCESS 0F MAKING SAM.

Original application filed .Tune 7, 1918.

To all wlw/n, t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE WASHINGTON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Brooklyn, city of New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Food Products and Processes of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

bly invention relates generally to a new form of saccharine matter and more specifically comprises certain improved compounds therewith containing and preserving flavoring or stimulating constituents. It forms a division of my prior application Serial No. 238,629, filed June 7, 1918.

The foundation of vmy invention primarily resides in my discovery of the fact that, when a perfect solution of a saccharine substance such as cane sugar is carefully evapo.

rated under reduced pressure todryness, and under conditions inhibitive'of crystallization or granulation, the dried residue will consist of a homogeneous glass-like modification of sugar of peculiar physical structure, possessing qualities and properties not Ifound in'any of the different crystalline, granular, powdery or syrupy forms in'which such substances now appear in the arts.

Secondarily my invention involves the further discovery that such residue is eminently adapted to serve as a solid vehicle or matrix for the retention and preservation of many otherwise perishable, stimulating, or aromatic flavoring substances, from whichthe latter can be instantly released by simple solution.

My invention therefore enables me to .obtain in a new and improved form old. and known products, such as for instance. molasses, glucose, maple sugar, etc., and also by incorporatingin syrups'of various kinds of sugar various stimulants, o r aromatic Havering substances, such as essential oils of lemon, orange, essence of vanilla, soluble vegetable matter, extracts of tea leaves, roasted coffee beans, roasted coffee substitutes, medicinal plants, various fruit juices, such as lemons, oranges, grapes, pineapples, raspberries, etc.. enables me to obtain a series of new and useful, dry, soluble preparations from which one can instantly pre.

pare, byl simple solution, stimulating or re'- treshing beverages already sweetened, such as tea, coffee, lemonade, orangeade, etc.l

Serial No. 238,629. Divided and this application led June 22, 1922. Serial No. 570,147. v

As an illustration of the manner in which -my invention is carried into effect I will now describe the procedure of manipulatingl a simple saccharine substance such as, for inst-ance, cane sugar, and modifying the same into my new and improved form. To this end an amount of cane sugar is perfectly dissolved, preferably by stirring' and without application of v heat, in the least possible quantity of Water so as to ,make a nearly but not quite saturated solution (more. water might of course be used but this would merely and unduly prolong the work of evaporation, without in the least aiiecting the final result). The syrup so prepared is next poured into a vacuum dish or pan which is perfectly clean and free from any sugar dust or sugar crystals, if pure cane sugar or other crystallizable form of saccharine matter is used alone, as other.- wise the residue will crystallize or granulate by an automatic propagation of crystallization and the modified amorphous temperature to any appreciable amount above any given boiling point as long as there is enough moisture in it for it to` emit bubbles lof steam. 'Sok long 'as ebullition continues the tempera-ture of the loo-il` ing massJ will remain constant, as it is iii reality regulated by, and depends on, the

-degree of absolute pressure maintained over the boiling syrup in the pan. Thus, for a pressure corresponding to one inch of mercury the boiling temperature is about 77 o l". As the mass keeps on boiling and 'the water keeps on eva-porating the syrup will thicken and become less and less plastic whiley the emission of steam bubbles will become less and less frequent and more dillicult.v Finally bubbles will only vform as a result of a slight local superheating of the '1n-ass, which at the superheated point will somewhat soften so -that the issuing steam will swell out a bubble that eventually will no longer burst tic owing to the retention of some residual moisture, will soon become hard and linally brittle through continued drying and fin-al cooling. When this result is reached the process will be terminated and the vacuum may be broken.

The re-sult of the operation just described will be a foamlike mass of vdeslcca'ted bubble walls consisting of'a homogeneous modification of cane sugar similar to the sugary \mass which is obtained by suddenly cooling vmolten or fused cane sugar and which is .commonly known as fbarley sugar. It is here to be noted that although I believe that both of the homogeneous sugars just men* tioned are similar if not identical in their chemical compositions, their physical forms are vastly different, as one consists of exceedingly line pellicular walls which may be broken, light crushed and sited into a loose, light curvy, lamular, snow-white powder, which has not been affected in any way by caramelization or otherfresults of heat, whereas the other; consists of a dense, glassy, amber colored mass, at least pary tially caramelized and otherwise affected `by the high temperature necessary in its production. Moreover, the essential thing-for the production of the one' is moisture and boiling at low temperature, ,While for the f other, it is freedom from moisture and fu-` 4si'on\ at relatively very higlh temperature.

It will therefore be rea 'ze'd at once that if one is adaptedvto receive and hold as in a matrix, delicate flavors and aromatic sub- L,stances easilyfdestroy'ed by heat, the-other is utterly useless for the same purpose; fur,- -thermore that, while the loose, lu'fy pellicular powder obtained from the one is emi-v nently adapted to@ instant solution in water without tendency-to cake or pack in doing so, the powder obtained by pulverizing the other will of necessity be dense and compact and correspondingly hard to dissolve, and liable to packing or caking in the dissolving process.

The reasons why this pellicular powder I has such great dissolving velocity are that the thin, curved sections of the bubble walls comprising it are practically anhydrous and have large surfaces in proportion to their masses so that they greedily drink up water, and also that, as a result of their shapes, there is always a large perf centage of voids in a given mass of them, through which voids the solvent fluid may pass easily and rapidly to immediate contact with the extensive surfaces of the particles.

For the purpose of elucidation it may be well to further state that while preparing modified sugar as above described, though it is desirable, it is not essential, for the purpose of obtaining the foam-like residue, to carry \on' evaporation and desiccation under as high a vacuum and at as low a temperature as above described. On the contrary it is only essential that the temperature shall not rise during desiccation to a point where the product underpreparation would suffer deterioration, or at which the dried mass might suiliciently soften and fuse so as to destroy the self supporting quality necessary to the structure of the residue.

I have found tha-t during the desiccation of asugary mass as above described, formation and desiccation of bubbles proceeds from the heated surface gradually towards the upper free surface of the mass, and as itis evident that after a layer of bubbles has been built up between the heating surface and the rest .ofthe mass to be desic cated, it will act as a very eieient insulator, the further transmission of heat to the remaining mass will thereafter go on very gradually. Consequently, if the mass being treated islof any considerable thickness the Atime necessaryxfor complete desiccation will be greatly extended. For this reason I have found it, essential in efficient practice to resort for desiccating purposes to a class of apparatus of relatively `large heati surface, adapted to handle thin layers gli; mass for desiccation. In practice I have also found it preferable tocool the foam residue before taking it off from the r ing surface, as this renders it generally ard and brittle and much easier of removal.

I have further found that when the mass treated as above described consists of purely saccharine substances tlle generalsize of the bubbles and the thickness of lthe bubble walls depends on the thickness of the layer applied to the heating surface and that the bubbles are smaller and their walls thinner in proportion as the layer to be dried is thinner. I have also found that the formation of bubblesis not aected'by the addition or incorporation with the syrup of a solution of certain soluble extracts such as extract of tea leaves, roasted coffee beans, etc., nor seemingly is the bubble formation of a saccharine residue affected by the presence therein of f at globules such as butter fat or cocoa butter, insmall amounts.

I have further discovered that saccharine solutions and especially concentrated Syrups, containing volatile arOmatic principles such as vanilla, lemon oil, essence of raspberries, etc., may be,v concentrated and desiccated into said foamlike residue without practically any loss of such volatile'aromatic principles. The reason for this is that most of such volatile aromatic principles consist of essential oils and these form oleo-saccharine compounds whose vapor pressures at low temperature are `nil or very much reduced,

especially in concentrated solutions, and consequently stand desiccation without Adeterioration or loss of said volatile principles by evaporation. However, .-if the form of saccharine matter employed is one that easily crystallizes, such as cane sugar, and if from lack of proper care the mass crystallizes or granulates during desiccation, then the oleosaccharine compound will break up 'in sugar crystals or grains and the essential oils or aromatic principles will evaporate and disappear.

VVhen a saccharine solution or syrup in combination with aromatic principles, and for that matter with perishable matter such as milk solids, is desiccated into such foamlike mass, the homogeneous sugar has a decided preservative action upon said perishable matter, inasmuch as it serves the purpose of a solid vehicle and acts as a matrix in which are hermetically sealed the particles that would lie open to the deteriorating influences of the atmosphere.

I have further 'discovered that in order to obtain a homogeneous sugar or a homogeneous sugary preparation from a crystallizable sugar such as cane sugar, it is absolutely essential that all the sugar be brought in a perfect state of solution before (.foncentration and desiccation are proceeded \vith,`because crystallization or granulation, whenever possible, will always be produced in preference to the homogeneous sugar modificatiom and only a single seed crystal is sutlicient to' start the action, which is exothermic or heat giving, Whereas homogeneous desiccationv is endothermic or heat absorbing. In connection with this I have found that certain non-crystallizable saccharinc matters, such as glucose. have an inhibitive effect u -n the crystallizing propensities of crysta lizable saccharine matter so that it is often advis-ible to ltsc various saccharine matters in combination, the nonrated to form the next batch without they crystallization which would otherwise occur Iif pure cane sugar or other crystallizable I am aware that the ability of sugar toy retain and preserve to a greater or less extent the Havor and substance of certain food products and beverages has long been well known, and that the use of sugar in the form of syrups for this purpose has long been commony practice, as in the making of jams and preserves, but, so far as known to me, all previous efforts to manufacture a dry form of sugar, either alone or in food preserving combinations, have resulted in the production of the crystallineform of sugar or barley sugar, and these simply will not serve for reasons above given.

One form of apparatus usable for carrying out the process and making the product herein set out is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side view of the apparatus, shown partly in section, and

Fig..2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Throughout the drawings like reference characters indicate like parts. 1 is a horizontal, hollow cylinder, which may bemade of metal with -a glassl or enameled lining and provided at one end with a permanent cap 2, and at the other with a removable end plate or cover 10, held by bolts 9, 9, to a bearing. ring 8, fast onthat end of the cylinder. The joint between cylinder end and cover may be made air-tight by a gasket 11. This cylinder or retort 1 is journaled on a horizontal axis, as by trunnion '3 on cap 2 revolving in header 6, and bearing ring 8 revolving in the opposite header 13. 'Headers 6 and 13 are spaced apart by tubes 17, 17, and held against the ends of said tubes by rods 15, 15, threaded at their ends and provided with external nuts 16, 16. The headers also support a shell 14 surrounding the retort 1, and forming a jacket or casing therefor. One of the pipes 17 is connected to a heating pipe 21 which de-v livers a fluid heating medium such as steam controlled by a valve 19. Another supplies a cooling medium, such as cold water. delivered through a pipe 22, controlled b va valve 18. These two pipes 17, 17, connected respectively to pipes 21 and 22 have perforations 23 so located that jets of the contained fluids are discharged against the ex! terior surface of retort 1. The waste water and condensed steam are trapped oftl through trap 20 at the bottom of the jacket or casing formed by headers 6 and 13 and plates 14.

Retort 1 may be rotated by pulley 7 on the exterior of trunnion 3. This trunnion is centrally bored and receives pipe 5, with which it makes an air-tight joint by means of stuing box 4. Similarly, cover plate 10 is centrally bored to receive pipe 12 controlled by valve 24. This valve 24 may conveniently be connected to a hose 25 which leads from any suitable reservoir 26. Pipe 5 extends to a suction pump 27 passing through any suitable cooling device such as a 'receptacle 28 for cracked ice, in the interior of which said pipe 5 is coiled to give a large radiating surface and serve as a condenser of vapors drawn from the retort 1.

The foregoing apparatus forms a convenient device for concentrating and desiccating any proper solution placed in reservoir 26 into the desired mass of bubble walls with glassy walls hereinbefore described. A partial vacuum being -formed in retort 1, by operating pump 27, and valve 24 being opened, a proper quantity of the solution in reservoir 1 is sucked into the retort, and, on closing valve 24, the retort is set in rotation by means of pulley 7 Steam is then admitted through pipe 21, and the steam jets impinging on the revolving' retort 4heat it to the desired temperature to produce the concentration and ultimate deslecation of the contents, the vapors liberated by ebullition of the solution being drawn oli by thev ump through the condensers. The steam 1s then shut off, the retort and contents cooled by the jets of water 'admitted through pipe 22, the vacuum broken and the deslccated contents scraped from the interior walls of the retort after cover 10 -has been removed.

As an example of the process followed in producing, according to my inventlon, a powder from a solutlon of sugar and lemon juice, I may take 25 pounds of the fresh juice extracted fromlemons and thoroughly mix with a perfect solution of 10 poun s of granulated sugar, and, on this being sucked inte the retort 1, rotate the same at the rate the pipe 1 of about revolutions a minute. The steam supplied through perforations 23 in connected to pipe 21 is so regulated that the temperature of retort 1 does not rise above 40 degrees centigrade, when jthe pump 27 `lis operated ata speed that .f will maintain a vacuum in the retort of :about 1 millimeter absolute pressure under existing conditions.

As the solution boils off and concentrates under these conditions,

it begins to adhere-to the walls of the revolving retort and is thereby ultimately spread over the interior of the retort in an evenly distributed layer which begins to puff up into the mass of bubbles with glass-like walls hereinbeore described. The mass is ultimately, in about 4 hours, desiccated in a layer o f such `superposed bubbles 3 or 4 inches thick.

diluting the original fruit juice and sugarl solution above described.

Upon repeating the above-described operation it is advisable to first admit a small quantit of water to the retort and to re-V volve t e same to make sure that any particles remaining from the precedin batch are completely dissolved, or to m e sure that the sugar and fruit juice admitted is an unsaturated solution which will similarlydissolve the left-over particles. Either procedure will prevent such left-over particles from starting the process .of crystallization when the concentrating of the second batch alien soluble solid matter, such as coffee extract, is used with the sugar, the soluble extract takes theV place of practically anl equal amount of sugarso far as aiding in the bubble formation is concerned. In other Words, the quality of forming the glassy bubblel walls herein described is not a propert ssessed by sugarpalone, but is charac. terlstlc of certain other .soluble materials. If such a material, such as coifee extract, is used with .the sugar the bubbles will form properly even if the insoluble matter present (such as milk solids or chocolate) is more than one third of the weight of the sugar, so long as such insoluble matter is less than thirty five per cent of the total weight of the sugar, the soluble coifee extract, and. thel insoluble matter solids) combined.

To state the proposition in another way I may say that so long as the total soluble matter, (saccharine or, other soluble Amaterials) constitutes sixt -ve per cent or more of the -total solids both soluble and insoluble) the proper bubble formation will occur.

' I have further found,"as before stated, that in .case a given mixture containing enough cane sugar to be uiy and soluble may prove -too sweet, resort may be had to a sugar of less sweetening capacity, such as grape sugar or glucose,` which may be used wholly or partially as a substitute without in any way'impairing the other qualities of the preparation so long as the total amount of sugars and auxiliary soluble matter bears the proper relation to total amount of the rss j tain the residue inthe foamlike mass dcscribed because when the concentration has proceeded to a certainl point the residue suddenly granulates or crystallizes and the resulting dry product will then yield upon solution only a beverage that will be flat and devoid of the volatile and aromatic principles of the iiavoring material used. This tendency of this residue to granulate or crystallize is generally due to the incomplete solution of the sugar before evaporatio-n is begun, or is caused by any undissolved residue remaining in the vacuum dryer from a prior drying operation. I have also found that if the sugar iu the mixture comprises from 10 per cent to l5 per cent of commercial glucose, the inhibitive properties of the latter will generally be suficient to p-revent any' such granulation, even under a moderate occurrence of the above described conditions. This I believe to be due to the action ofthe dextrine which usually occurs in commercial glucose. Probably other gums than dextrine might have the same beneficial effect in properly regulated quantities.

Various changes evidently could be made in the exact steps of procedure herein described, and in the materials employed, without departing from the substance of my invention so long as the principles of operation and general characteristics herein outlined are retained.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a powder composed of amorphous soluble material in the form of small, thin, readily soluble pellicles consisting of the desiccated and broken walls of bubbles of a perfect solution of the said material, said pellicles having volatile essential oils and aromatic principles retained therein.

2. As a new article of manufacture a powder composed ofV small, thin, readily soluble amorphous pellicles of saccharine matter having glassy walls containing a concentrated fruit juice.

powder composed of readily soluble amorphous pellicles of glucose and other saccharine matter containing a concentrated fruit Juice. l

4. As a new article o-f manufacture, a powder composed of dry, amorphous, pellicles containing oleo-saccharine compounds.

5. The process of forming a readily soluble powder of amorphous saccharine matter and soluble fiavoring matterl which comprises mixing a proper quantity of such soluble matter with a perfect solution of saccharine matter, evaporating the mixture and desiccating the residue at a low pressure and at a temperature which is below that of fusion of the materials and which will not produce any hurtful modification of the flavoring matter, until the same is transformed into a foam-like mass of bubbles, and then crushing the dry walls of such bubbles.

-6. The process of forming a readily soluble powder of amorphous'saccharine ma- E). As a new article of manufacture, a

terials and concentrated lemon juice which comprises mixing a proper quantity of such lemonjuice with a perfect solution of the saccharine matter, evaporating the mixture and desiccating the residue at a low pressure and at a temperature which is below that of fusion of the materials, and which will not produce any hurtful modification of the lemon. juice, until the. same is transformed into a foamlike mass of bubbles, and then crushing the d walls of such bubbles.

7 As a new article of manufacture a powder composed of small, thin, readily soluble amorphous pellicles of saccharine matter having glassy walls containing concentrated lemon juice.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. Witnesses:

W. N. LEONARD, EDWARD BARRY. 

